Cameron’s position on Europe grows clearer

It seems that this renegotiation will span the next election. Indeed, it will start as soon as a new EU treaty is proposed. In response to a question from Peter Lilley, Cameron said he will try to use any forthcoming treaty to attempt to bring powers back to this country. Those close to Cameron say that the plan is to get as much back before the next election and then accelerate the process as soon as there is a treaty negotiation under a Conservative-only government.

When the referendum does come, it will most likely offer a choice between the new terms and out. The later became apparent when Julian Lewis asked Cameron to confirm that he would never offer the public an option of leaving the EU, Cameron replied ‘That is not what I’ve said. What I’ve said is I don’t support an immediate in/out referendum. I believe we should show strategic and tactical patience in this and then what I want to see is a fresh settlement, that we seek fresh consent for. The right time to determine questions about referendums and the rest of it is after we have that fresh settlement. That is what we should do.’ Only if the option of leaving was going to be on the ballot would Cameron have a serious chance of winning concessions from the other 26 members which is one reason why it will have to be on the ballot paper.  

One other thing to consider is what might be going on behind closed doors elsewhere in Europe to make Cameron confident that he could win sufficient concessions to win this referendum.